Demons Within
by Thozmp Corris
Summary: AU-ish, X-over, Iruka didn't pass Naruto the night he stole the scroll, Naruto knocked him out before he could, and then ran off. Naruto will soon learn how to use his inner demons, or loose his soul trying...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I can't think of a witty remark, so I'll just say, I don't own Naruto and/or other affiliated works.

* * *

Naruto looked at Mizuki's beaten form, before giving a sheepish grin towards Iruka, "Guess I kinda over did it, eh?"

Iruka gave a small chuckle, "He could use another kick or two, if you ask me."

Naruto gave a small laugh himself, before moving to pick up the forbidden Scroll of Sealing. With his back turned to his teacher, his face became more contemplative, seeming to be deciding something. With a barely perceptible nod to himself, the blond took the large scroll to his scarred teacher, "Maybe you should hold this, you know, so people don't get the wrong idea…" Iruka nodded, taking the large scroll from the small boy as he continued talking, "And since you've got your hands full, I'll check your wound, wouldn't want you to bleed all over, yeah?"

Not letting his teacher react, Naruto was behind him like a flash, tying his orange jacket to the teacher as a makeshift bandage. In a small voice just barely loud enough for him to hear, Naruto spoke, "Thank you, Iruka… for everything; and… I'm sorry." The confused teacher was just about to ask what Naruto meant by that when he felt a sharp pain at his neck and blacked out.

When he woke up later, scroll still in hand and the traitor Mizuki bound to a nearby tree, the ANBU would question him as to the whereabouts of one Uzumaki Naruto.

--

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed as he went over the report about Mizuki, Iruka, and Naruto again. He was currently in the middle of an impromptu council, and most of the councilors were arguing about what to do about the "Uzumaki problem" as they deemed it. It seems that even though most of them wanted to be rid of the "demon," as they put it; that he left of his own will was a sticking point.

After a little bit of arguing among the gathered members, Sarutobi finally spoke up, "First of all," the old ninja started, bringing everyone's attention to him, "It would seem that, though Naruto did in fact take the scroll, he was tricked into taking it by his instructor Mizuki, who wished to take the secrets from the Konohagakure. Furthermore, it was thanks to Naruto that Mizuki's plan not only failed, but his treason was uncovered, and he is currently 'entertaining' Ibiki in the cells; add to that, the Scroll of Sealing is once more back in the tower, and is now under heavier guard."

Some of the council members glanced at each other before one spoke up, "But what are we to do about the de— boy?"

"And what is expected for me to do?" The Hokage sighed with an unreadable look for the speaker.

"We need to declare him a missing-nin, send hunter ninja after him."

"I cannot do that, nor will I allow that to be done." Sarutobi told the man, his face becoming stony and blank.

"Why not, he ran away, did he not?"

"True, but he cannot be declared a missing-nin, as he never passed the genin exam. To be considered a renegade ninja, one must first _**be**_ a ninja." Sarutobi silently thanked any and all deities that the boy didn't pass, as bad as that seemed. "As it is, since he failed, he is no longer even a ninja prospect, a cadet, but rather a civilian, whose actions are beyond the control of this council. Should a civilian wish to leave, they are free to do so."

The speaker seethed, "Even so, we cannot allow him to be turned against us—"

"Has it never occurred to any of you," The Hokage interrupted, "That if he were treated well—or even treated as a normal child—that he wouldn't have _**wanted**_ to leave in the first place? That his loyalties would have been to Konoha first and foremost? As it is, he has more then legitimate cause to hate this village and the people in it. If he ever does learn to use the fox's power and decides to attack, we'd only have ourselves to blame." With that the Sandaime Hokage stood to leave. "If I see a mission request to go after that boy for reasons of violence, if even hear of it, I will rip it and the client to pieces." Looking each council member in the eye to show just how absolutely serious he was, he left to let them dwell on his promise.

--

Naruto awoke to sunlight on his face, and trees filling his vision. He wasn't sure where he was, after learning he had a demon in his belly, realizing that it was the cause of all his suffering and that no matter what he'd do that he'd always be nothing more then a demon to the people of Konohagakure, he ran. Sure he could trust Iruka, especially after what he'd said last night, and there was no doubt he could trust the old man, and the Ichuraki duo, that was only 4 people to the hundreds in the village.

So he ran.

Probably not the smartest of ideas, but it was the best he could come up with at the time. Of course now he was left with the dilemma of what he was going to do with the rest of his life. He wasn't sure about becoming a ninja for another country, they might know about the demon too; but he didn't really know how to do anything else…

"Hey! Hey! You awake yet?" A strange voice called to Naruto, causing his to actually take notice of his surroundings for the first time. Fairly close by was a fire, being attended by two people the blond had never seen before; of course it was kind of expected that he didn't recognize them, but still.

The speaker had been a boy, maybe a year or two older then Naruto himself, with short, reddish hair, and fairly non-descript, but he seemed to be trying to be easily looked over. The other person was a girl that looked maybe another couple of years older then the boy, but carried an air that said she was far older.

Naruto was on guard in a flash, suspicious of the two people that apparently found him when he was vulnerable. "Who are you? Are you ninjas?"

The two strangers blinked, looked at each other and laughed. After a moment the boy calmed down enough to speak, "Nah, we aren't ninjas." Naruto relaxed a bit at that, but what the boy said next made him even more worried, "We're exorcists."

* * *

A/N: Comments and suggestions always welcome, flames are acceptable if you can give actual feedback on what it is I need to do to improve the story, and I don't mean things like, "Make it better!" If anyone would like to Beta read any one of my other stories please let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I can't think of a witty remark, so I'll just say, I don't own Naruto and/or other affiliated works.

* * *

Naruto stared at the boy for a long moment, "Exorcists?"

At this the unnamed boy grinned sheepishly, "Well… sorta exorcists, kinda… exorcists-in-training, you know?"

Naruto thought for a minute, "Well, no, not really. Are you missing exorcist's licenses or something?"

The girl, who was further away muttered something that sounded like 'we're missing something alright' but the boy only shot her a quick glare, "We're still working things out… er… you know, I don't know your name…"

Naruto panicked for a second, he didn't want to turn these people away, but then again they might not know, right? "Er… you know it's polite to introduce yourself first." The blond stalled.

The red head blinked, and then grinned, "Oh. Right." He then thrust out his hand, "Name's Justin, Justin Franklin." The now named Justin took on a thoughtful expression for a second, "Although in your style of naming I'd be Franklin Justin…"

Rather confused by the rambling, Naruto shook the offered hand and replied, "Uh… Uzumaki Naruto…"

Justin continued to grin, "Nice to meetcha Naruto." The red head then turned towards the girl who was still attending the fire, and yelled, "HEY! MELONIE! GET YOUR OLD ASS OVER HERE AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF!"

By the time Naruto's ears recovered from the red heads loud demand he was staring at a girl only slightly taller then himself, whose small frame was covered by baggy—on her—clothing to give the impression that she was a little bigger then she actually was. Of course it was the deep blue hair that fell past her shoulders that seemed to draw attention.

The girl inclined her head, "Melonie. Valentine Melonie, as you would say."

Naruto politely returned the nod and introduced himself to the seemingly sedate girl, before asking, "So what are you doing out in the middle of nowhere."

Melonie raised an eyebrow, "We could ask the same thing of you…"

Naruto was reluctant to answer and after a tense moment Justin stepped in, "If he doesn't want to say, he doesn't have to. Besides, it isn't like we were planning on sticking around for much longer ourselves."

Melonie nodded, "True." She turned to Naruto, "My apologies, perhaps our paths shall cross again on better terms." The girl turned back to Justin, "We should be on our way…"

Naruto, acting on impulse, blurted out, "Where you headed?"

The pair looked at each other for a moment before Justin answered, "Why does it matter? You gonna follow us or something?"

Naruto once more hesitated, thinking of how to answer before settling on a half-truth, "Well, I kinda want to find something to do with my life, and, you know, being an exorcist doesn't sound too bad. You get to help people, and it might be exciting…"

Melonie raised an eyebrow at the answer once more, but it was Justin who spoke up, "Well, more the merrier and whatnot." This answer provoked a glare from Melonie, but Justin ignored it charging onward, "We're heading for Umi no Kuni. Been hearing rumors of a sea monster terrorizing one of the port towns there."

Naruto blinked at the idea of a sea monster, but then again demons roamed the earth so how far off could monsters be, right? As the blond waited for his two would be companions he missed the way Justin and Melonie seemed to be communicating with each other without so much as a word passing between them. More importantly he missed the conspiratorial nod that Justin gave Melonie before heading out.

* * *

"That boy…" Iruka sighed, and not for the first time since he regained consciousness. When he had first found out that Naruto had left, the chuunin had thought it was a truly unfunny joke, a prank, possibly played by his favorite knuckle-headed student, but it was confirmed by the Sandaime himself that Uzumaki Naruto was no longer residing in Konohagakure no Sato.

Consequently, the village's electrical grid suffered for sometime afterwards.

Once suitably calmed down, Iruka had immediately wanted to go after him, but he first had to get fixed up by the medics, and needed to stay in observation for another day; so by the time the chuunin could go searching, the blond was well out of the range in which Iruka's Hyakurai could sense the jinchuuriki's specific bioelectric field.

And without that handy guide, finding Naruto could be near impossible.

It was a little known fact to most of the civilians in Konoha, that Uzumaki Naruto was in fact one of the most difficult people to find and capture if he didn't want you to; falling short of the hokage himself and less then a handful of others. In fact the only people who could reliably find him no matter what, were Umino Iruka and Sarutobi Hiruzen, and it was only through the use of bloodline limits (Hyakurai) or special jutsus (Tomegane no Jutsu) respectively, in addition to an intimate knowledge of the boy himself.

Though reluctant to give up, Iruka knew that bringing back Naruto would be bad for the poor boy. When he left, the village, rather then going into celebration, actually became more nervous, worried, and anxious, almost fearful. The villagers—at least the older generations—were basically afraid that Naruto would return, with the full power of the fox at his disposal, and seek his revenge. The younger generation could feel the atmosphere and were unknowingly imitating it, but didn't know the reason behind it.

If Naruto returned now, there might be an immediate wave of relief, followed by the slaughter of the poor unfortunate boy just so it wouldn't be possible for the fears to come true. As much as Iruka might wish for Naruto to return, it was currently—and may even have always been—safer for him to be outside of Konoha.

With a last sigh, Iruka returned reluctantly to the genin team assignment list, wishing once more that Naruto had stayed, if only because it would have made his current pile of paperwork that much easier.

* * *

It had taken almost two weeks for Naruto and his companions to reach Umi no Kuni, and another couple of days to reach the specific town. In that time the blond learned that Justin took up the job of exorcist from his great-grandfather from his mother's side of the family, and was traveling to develop his skills in the same manner that his parents had, though what those skills were specifically Justin failed to mention in the slightest, remaining rather vague.

Melonie was also developing her own set of techniques, which she said that some of her brothers and sisters had done. Like Justin she was rather vague about the techniques, but Naruto figured that they had at least a little to do with the spear she carried for protection. Naruto also learned that she played the flute rather well.

Of course Naruto couldn't blame them too much for being vague, as he wasn't exactly forthcoming with his own answers. Of course Naruto had been training to be a ninja, and even if he wasn't one now, it was still rather ingrained in him to never reveal too much about oneself. The thing was, that as civilians without such training, Justin and Melonie should have been more detailed then they were, or just less obtuse. But he just passed it off as being around a stranger.

Once in town they checked into a respectable inn, and once settled into their room, Justin looked to Melonie, who nodded to him, before turning to Naruto. "So…" the red head started off, catching the blonde's attention, "How'd you like some help with your demon problem?"

* * *

A/N: Hyakurai was created and is used by the permission of Lithius Amarantinos.

If you can guess where the OCs comefrom you get a cookie, there will be more hints in the next chapter, but there OCs based on video games if that helps.

Additionally, I have a couple of ideas either way, but I'd like some feedback, so I'll let you choose whether or not Tsunade should return to become the fifth hokage. It won't be for a while yet, but I'd still like you to think about it.

Comments and suggestions always welcome, flames are acceptable if you can give actual feedback on what it is I need to do to improve the story, and I don't mean things like, "Make it better!" If anyone would like to Beta read this or any one of my other stories please let me know.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other copyrighted materials.

Shinku Ryuuga: Sorry, bad guess, hopefully this chapter will give you a better idea of where Melonie came from, as well as give an idea on Justin.

* * *

Haruno Sakura was waiting on the small bridge with her teammates for her ever tardy Jonin instructor, Hatake Kakashi. While at first she'd been ecstatic at being on a team with her "One True Love" Uchiha Sasuke, it quickly went downhill as every attempt to break through "Mysterious and Hurt" emotional barrier just seemed to backfire on her. This of course didn't keep her from trying, but she started to wonder if it was worth it…

Of course there was her other teammate, Sai, who was on the genin reserve list until he was put on team seven with her and Sasuke. There was something very off about the unknown genin, nothing wrong, per say, but something not right. Then there was the fact that Sai somehow managed to drag both Sasuke and her through Kakashi's bell test, not that Sasuke needed it…

It wasn't long before her thoughts drifted towards her former classmate, and the only one of their class that didn't pass the initial genin test, Uzumaki Naruto. Ever since he left the adults, for the most part, had been extremely tense, almost as if expecting some sort of disaster to happen. Even stranger, her parents have been asking for everything she knew about the orange-loving, ramen obsessed boy, which was the polar opposite of their attitudes beforehand. They seemed extremely frustrated at her lack of knowledge of the boy, despite the fact that they were the ones who told her to stay away from him.

As far as she knew, it wasn't just her parents asking these questions. And they were the strangest questions: Where did he like to go when planning a prank? What did he do when he wasn't at the academy? Who were his friends? That last one threw her when she thought about it, as far as she knew, he had none. Of course there were other questions that she wasn't sure what to think about: Where would he go now that he's away from Konoha? Was he plotting some sort of horrible revenge? Of course the biggest question in her mind was, why would he leave in the first place? Although, more and more that question seemed to be answering itself.

"Um…" Sakura was unsure how to broach the subject with the two boys with her, although the departure from her usual seducing (In her mind) of Sasuke caught the attention of the boys, "I was wondering… have the adults been asking you two about Naruto?"

The two of them stared at her, and she silently wished she hadn't said anything, but surprisingly Sasuke answered, "Some…"

Sai, slowly nodded, as if he were revealing that some secret. And since neither boy seemed to be ready to elaborate, Sakura decided to do so, "It just seems rather odd: a little over two weeks ago, it seemed as if everyone was encouraged to… I don't know… shun him or something, but the moment he disappears, they want to know everything about him…"

She faltered under the intensity of Sasuke's gaze, "What do you mean by 'shun him'?"

Sakura blinked, before recalling how little she saw him in Konoha proper, "Well… he did seem to be kicked out of a lot of stores and other places, and I used to think it was because of his pranks, but the more I think about it, the more like it seems as if his pranks were more reactionary in nature…"

Sakura started to wonder now, and had become caught up in her own explanation, "Actually, it seemed as if almost all the adults didn't like him, even hated him, but nobody ever said why… Now that I think about it, it seems amazing that our instructors at the academy didn't treat him the same way…"

Sasuke had, by this point, become pensive, and for the first time not about his own problems, "Didn't they? I knew he didn't pay attention in class, goofed around…"

Sakura caught on to that line of thinking, "But it could have been a reactionary condition, if the instructors acted like everyone else, ignored him, or even taught him incorrectly, he'd stop paying attention, stop trying, and wouldn't bother with the instructors, ignoring them like they ignore him…"

Sasuke, shook his head, as if clearing his thoughts, "He still would have been a dobe, even if he didn't have anyone, neither did I; and I still became rookie of the year."

"But you weren't really alone." Sai spoke up for the first time, surprising the other two genin with his presence, as they had forgotten he was still there, "Even if you had no family, you had the rest of the village willing to help you, and from what I heard, instructors bending over backwards to assist in your education. According to you and Sakura, Naruto didn't even have an indifferent instructor willing to treat him as just another student."

Sakura wanted to argue in favor of the last Uchiha, but it was hard to when Sai spoke the truth: Sasuke refused the help of others, where as Naruto couldn't get the same instruction as everyone else. The more she thought about it, the more she had to wonder, "What happened that he earned the animosity of the whole village? And why did he stay so long if he didn't have anyone?"

She hadn't realized she had spoken out loud until Kakashi's voice came drifting down, the jonin instructor having arrived sometime during the genins' conversation, "Well… He didn't necessarily have nobody, although the number of people he did have could be counted on one hand with fingers left over…"

Without continuing, Kakashi began walking towards the Hokage's tower, Sakura fidgeted a moment, before speaking only to herself, "But… why did everyone hate him…?"

* * *

Naruto was on the edge of panic. Did they actually know, or were they guessing? "Demon problem, what demon problem?" He could just barely keep the shaking nervousness from his voice.

Melonie sighed dramatically, "It's alright to speak freely you know. Nobody will hear anything, right?" The last word was directed at Justin who nodded firmly.

"Anyways, we know you got something in you, even as amateur exorcists we could tell that much, but we couldn't figure it out for the longest time." Justin explained, "It was kinda weird, like a possession, but almost reversed, so that instead of the spirit/demon/etc. having control, you have its power."

Naruto was no longer listening, instead trying to figure a way out of the room, and figure out how these strangers knew so much.

"_I figured it out, because I got fed up and just did a mind scan on you. You gave me all the info I needed."_ Naruto jumped at the voice in his head. It sounded like Justin, but he didn't move his mouth, and it was IN HIS HEAD!! Naruto was nanoseconds from just jumping through the window when he was lifted by an invisible force and moved in front of Justin, _"Just listen a second will ya?"_

Naruto failed to respond, but Justin took that as an acceptance to go on. "Anyways, we know that you aren't the demon/spirit/whatever itself, and we weren't sure if removing it would help or hurt. So I got in contact with a friend, a man of great power named Roger Bacon, if he had any ideas. He started talking with one of Melonie's brothers—"

Melonie shot up, "Which brother?" this question seemed to be of great importance, as it caused her to tense up.

Justin made a motion for her to relax, "Keith, don't worry so much, you'll get wrinkles and start to show your age…" Melonie's response was simply to stick her tongue out at him as she visibly relaxed. Justin continued his interrupted speech, "Like I was saying, Bacon and Keith talked a bit, and they sent us a book that might come in handy. It has a ritual in it that will let you take complete control of whatever's in you."

Naruto was in complete and utter shock, "You actually want to help me?" the two others nodded, "Why?" the young jinchuuriki was still unfamiliar with the concept of people willing to help him.

Justin raised an eyebrow, "Well… we are exorcists, even if still in training, and it is kinda our job to help people in situations like yours…"

The force that held Naruto let go of him, but he was rooted by his shock and disbelief, "You… what do you get out of this?" Surely it was too good that they just wanted to help him.

Melonie answered with a shrug, "If you still want to come with us, a strong ally. If you want to go off on your own, experience."

Naruto studied the two before him for a long time, before he shakily asked, "So when do we do this?"

* * *

In the middle of the woods outside of the town they'd arrived out, Melonie marked out various shapes and symbols on the ground, while Justin meditated. They waited until late, after the sun had set, as Melonie claimed to be more empowered at night then during the daylight hours.

Once Melonie proclaimed the circle she'd been making finished, she had Naruto lay in the center of it. Justin sat down at Naruto's head, and placed his hands at the blonde's temples, "It'd probably help if you relax, ya know?"

Naruto stared at the red-head, "But you've never done this before!"

Justin shrugged, "We'll call it a learning experience…"

Before Naruto could reply, Melonie started chanting and Justin's eyes began to glow with an ephemeral light as Naruto's consciousness faded from the physical world. After five minutes, Melonie stopped chanting, and sat down exhausted, her part done with, "It's up to those two now." She said to no one in particular.

Another two minutes passed, when Justin jerked away from Naruto, shocked and rather disturbed, "I got thrown out, I'm not sure what's…" Justin's voice trailed off as Naruto became enveloped in a bright light seemingly coming from inside him. The light began to grow in intensity, as the boy himself began to roar with a combination of pain and power. In seconds, the light hid Naruto from sight, and when it faded the pair of them were stunned for a second, but quickly scrambled to gain their weapons as the now had to make attempts to fend off a demon.

* * *

A/N: If you can guess where the OCs comefrom you get a cookie, I gave some hints, but there OCs based on video games if that helps; although the games may be kinda obscure...

Additionally, I have a couple of ideas either way, but I'd like some feedback, so I'll let you choose whether or not Tsunade should return to become the fifth hokage. It won't be for a while yet, but I'd still like you to think about it.

Comments and suggestions always welcome, flames are acceptable if you can give actual feedback on what it is I need to do to improve the story, and I don't mean things like, "Make it better!" If anyone would like to Beta read this or any one of my other stories please let me know.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other copyrighted materials.

* * *

Justin and Melonie stared up at the demon, in all honesty, they weren't sure what to expect, as Justin merely gleaned the fact that Naruto possessed a demon, as trying to find the full details would have not only hurt Naruto, but also alerted him to the fact that the young psychic was rifling through his brain.

Justin took a moment to glance at Melonie, who was gripping her spear with one hand while the other was reaching into her pouch for something, before his eyes settled back on the demon Naruto had become. The would-be exorcist wanted to call it a bird, and in the general since it was, but with six wings colored various hues of greens, yellows, and oranges, and a wingspan of around 25 feet, calling it a mere bird was a bit of an understatement. A raptor beak meant for easily tearing apart meat, talons big enough to qualify as large knives and most likely sharper, and a metallic sheen on the main body that indicated some sort of armoring meant it was hard to kill this deadly creature.

And that's not even taking into account whatever demonic qualities and abilities it doubtlessly had…

Just as Justin was readying his first attack, he sensed amusement from the large raptor; and not the normal "Ha ha, puny humans, quiver in fear!" demon amusement, this was more like someone telling a joke, or playing a prank…

Justin frowned and then straightened up, Melonie casting him a confused and worried look. Just as the psychic was about to say something, the same light that had previously enveloped Naruto began to shine again from within the bird beast until it was lost from view, to be replaced by the same orange clad boy who was on his back, clutching his stomach, and laughing his head off.

"Gotcha! Gotcha good!"

Justin merely glared at the younger boy, before he swiftly tossed something at the blonde's head. What was essentially a rounded lump of metal struck the laughing Naruto in the forehead before it zoomed back to Justin's hand. Naruto had been hit by a yo-yo.

Said blonde frowned and glared at the older boy as he rubbed his sore forehead, "What was that for?!"

Justin merely put on a smug expression, "That's what you get for pranking people trying to help you." Justin's expression turned more serious, "So what exactly happened? I kinda got thrown out before I could really see anything…"

Naruto stopped rubbing his head, and sat in a thinking pose, one hand on his chin with his elbow resting in his other hand, upon his knee, "I'm not exactly sure… I remember waking up…

* * *

_Naruto opened his eyes, which is kinda strange, because he didn't remember closing them in the first place. Not that that mattered considering he didn't know where he currently was. The area he'd "woken up" in was a rather large circle of stone that suddenly stopped. This didn't mean that it hit a wall; it just stopped, with nothing beyond it but a vast blankness. Evenly spaced at the edge of the circle were five doors, as well as a stone path that would let him travel beyond the current circle._

_Each of the doors was marked with a kanji, Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Lightning; although they all seemed to have faded into the doors, with the sole exception of the door with Wind on it, that one seemed to glow._

_Deciding to leave the doors alone for now, Naruto walked down the only path, as he didn't want to tempt what would happen if he went beyond the stone floor. After walking for a couple of minutes (Hours? Days? Seconds? Time seemed to not exist here.) the path expanded a bit, and jutted out to each side, as well as continuing onward. On either extension was yet another door, the one on his right had the kanji for Light, while the left door was marked Dark. Once more both kanji were faded like burnt-out embers, or maybe they were waiting to be lit like a match?_

_Still moving forward, Naruto eventually came to the end of the path, where once more there was a door. This one however, seemed larger then the other doors, more secured, stronger; this door's kanji was Seal, which gave the jinchuuriki an idea of what was behind that door. Placing a hand on the knob, he was about to enter when another hand was placed over his. Following the hand to its owner Naruto was surprised to find a tall blond-haired blue-eyed man standing beside him._

_The older blonde gave the younger a grin, "Sorry, I don't think you're ready for this one just yet. I'd recommend one of the other ones first…" the man pointed back the way Naruto had come, the younger blonde automatically looking, though when he looked back, the older man had vanished. "Don't worry; it'll still be here until you are ready to face it…"_

_Deciding to trust the, now disembodied, voice, Naruto went back, until he came across the Light and Dark doors. The blond first attempted to open the Light door, but found it stuck, unwilling to open no matter ho hard he pulled or pushed. He found the same to be true of the Dark door as well. Frustrated, Naruto headed back to the "main" area and came to the only door that was different from the rest, Wind._

_Bracing himself for anything, Naruto reached for the handle of the door with the glowing kanji, and pulled open the door. Instantly, the blonde was standing in a vast open field, grass swaying in the breeze, bright, shining sun overhead, and the sound of a door slamming shut behind him. Turning, Naruto spotted a door standing in the middle of the field, probably the one he came through, and shrugged it off as something to think about later. If these doors were like the Seal door, then there was something behind it…_

_A bird call from over head, caused Naruto to look up, where he spotted a mass of darkness that resembled a bird of sorts. It landed in front of the blonde, easily able to look him in the eye and spoke in a voice that one could only describe as the sound of shifting shadows, "So the 'master' of this realm has come to claim 'his' power has he?"_

_Naruto was admittedly confused, "What the hell are you talking about?!"_

_The shadowy bird tilted its head (Or at least it looked like it did, it was kinda hard to tell) before continuing, "So you don't know your own legacy? A chance like this hasn't occurred for hundreds of years…" Without a further word the shadow creature launched itself at Naruto._

_Naruto, who had a lifetime of having things flying at him, immediately threw himself backwards, allowing the shadow beast to just barely fly over him. The young boy scrambled to get up and pulled out a kunai as the dark bird circled back for another run. As the bird passed, raking talons at the boy, who in turn slashed with his blade, the darkness that made up the creature seemed to lessen ever so slightly, not enough to be truly noticeable to either combatant at in their current state of mind though._

_Getting frustrated with this small war of attrition, each side unable to land a definitive blow on the other, Naruto decided to pull out the stops and his hands formed a seal he'd learned only some days ago. Pumping chakra into the jutsu, one Naruto quickly became dozens, and didn't give the shadow beast an opportunity to recover from the shocking of multiplying targets as they literally threw themselves at the startled bird._

_As the Narutos slammed into the bird, a majority dispersed upon impact, but a handful of them, including the original, managed to grab onto the flying beast. As the original maneuvered himself to the creature's back, the copies were viciously stabbing into the shadowed mass with their kunai, the darkness fading significantly; When Naruto was in place he yelled at the creature, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT, BUT YOU AREN'T GETTING IT FROM ME!!!" and brought his blade down into what he assumed was the birds head._

_With a final death cry, the bird seemed to burst into a—for lack of a better term—cloud of shadows, but before the shadows could fully disperse they shifted into motes of light which rushed into the original Naruto, filling him with an inner light…_

* * *

"…And then I was here…" Naruto finished somewhat lamely, specifically avoiding talking of the prank.

Justin and Melonie looked contemplative, but it was Justin who spoke, "I somehow got tossed before you even saw the first set of doors…" Melonie opened her mouth to ask a question but Justin held up a hand, "In the mind, time is more personal, so he could have had days' worth of adventures and it'd only seem like a second to anyone outside." Turning back to Naruto, "So you had some sort of bird demon—"

"Epiran." Melonie interjected; caused both boys to look at her, "That's what Naruto turned into, an epiran."

Justin stared a second longer before rolling his eyes, "Anyway, so you had an _epiran_ sealed into?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, the only thing that should have been inside me should have been the fox—" Naruto cut himself off. He hadn't meant to reveal that particular secret, and was worried how the other two might take it, but when he glanced at them they were once more contemplative.

"Well…" Melonie spoke this time, "Unless you were some sort of repository of demons, there should have only been the one… although there is another possibility…" Melonie began to study Naruto very intently, making him feel rather uncomfortable.

Justin seemed to catch on to the thread that Melonie left hanging, "Do you really think so? That'd be cool if he was…"

"We'd have to ask Bacon to be really sure, but I think he is; my family seems to have a habit of running into them while on adventures…"

"Uh…" Naruto spoke up, almost startling the older two, "Mind filling me in on what you think I am? I don't like being talked about when I'm right here!"

Justin grinned sheepishly, "Sorry about that, but we think you might be a force the world hasn't seen for a while…"

Melonie nodded, "Like I said, we'll have Bacon come and take a look at you to be sure, but we're fairly certain that you are a warrior of a special class."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in disbelief, he'd never doubted that he was awesome, but they seemed to be talking about something beyond him, "And what exactly would that be?"

The older pair glanced at each other again, catching each others eyes and nodded, before speaking at the same time, "A Harmonixer."

* * *

A/N: Sorry about this chapter taking so long. You know when you have an idea, but you just can't seem to put it into words? That's me, almost all the time.

If you can guess where the OCs comefrom you get a cookie, that last line is a big clue as to what Naruto is being x-over with, and if that doesn't tell you, well, your lose.

Additionally, I have a couple of ideas either way, but I'd like some feedback, so I'll let you choose thngs like: the Chuunin exams (They'll be there, but you decide if they'll be spectators or participants), whether or not Tsunade should return to become the fifth hokage, etc. It won't be for a while yet, but I'd still like you to think about it.

Comments and suggestions always welcome, flames are acceptable if you can give actual feedback on what it is I need to do to improve the story, and I don't mean things like, "Make it better!" If anyone would like to Beta read this or any one of my other stories please let me know.


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